"He was down in Australia, directing a play," said a source super-close to Steven and his wife, Jules (who I used to work with at here E!). "They were separated at the time, and, of course, this woman got pregnant, as luck would have it."

Does he want to take care of the kid?

"Take care, yes," said our tight S.S. insider, "but get to know? No. He just wants to pay for the child's support, as he should."

The woman, who is named Lawrencina Anderson, claims she and the Traffic director had "sexual intercourse on many occasions covering all possible dates of [conception]...and as a result thereof, she became pregnant," according to the suit filed Thursday in Manhattan Supreme Court.

Soderbergh, we're told, has been trying to settle the matter for almost a year, but the woman's attorneys keep rejecting his offers. And then she decided to sue in the U.S., where she stands a greater chance of prevailing, at least monetarily.

"It was just a two-night affair," reveals the Soderbergh source.

Also, our inside camper insists things are fine on the Jules/Steven front, and that they're getting along well after their brief separation.

Asner even joked to her husband, when he went off to work with Jude Law in the thriller he's now directing, Contagion: "Well, at least you'll have talking points with Jude."